Getting air with cruise or on your own?

[Jenn1121]

We are going on a Mediterranean cruise in Nov. 08:D . I know that if you buy your air with RCCL and there is a delay they will get you to the ship before it leaves. But if you go on your own you more or less are screwed if you have a delay.

 

What recommendations do you have? Should I take the risk or just suck it up and pay more with RCCL?

 

Thanks for your help:)

 

Jenn

[Keith1010]

We always fly into port at least one day in advance. For a med cruise usually two or three days. If schedules and budgets permit I recommend that. It allows you to get over the jet lag, have time to see the city you are embarking from and should your flight be delayed or canceled then you have plenty of time to still get to the ship on time.

 

If that is not possible then maybe you should consider the cruise air. As you figure out what makes sense the cruise air does include transfers from the airport to the ship and sometimes in Europe that can be quite expensive.

 

Keith

[Fisherlady48]

With cruise air, if you are considerably delayed and its just a couple folks they will not "hold" the ship, but they will get you to the next port.

 

I also fly the day before. Having never been on a Med cruise, I would have to agree that 2 or 3 days before would be better to clear the jet lag.

 

K

[WatchHill]

We are doing a Mediterranean cruise in September and priced purchasing cruise line v. doing independent air. When I first booked, I had NCL air, knowing that I could drop it before final payment. Sure enough, I found much cheaper air [total of $468 less for the three of us], the flights and time I wanted, and booked it. There's no way Heathrow Express and a short cab ride to the hotel will cost that much. On our return, I'll book a tour from the ship that drops at either a hotel or airport.

I agree with pervious posters, if you are flying across so many time zones, you should plan to arrive a few days earlier than your cruise. With all the discussion of air delays, don't risk missing the ship.

 

Darcy

[Bramcruiser]

If you are going any distance and arranging your own travel arrangements my advise is to try aiming for an arrival the day before so that you have a great margin of safety in regards to timing. A big delay could indeed lead you to missing a ship and booking on your own leaves you no recourse but to pay to catch up with the ship out of your own pocket or worse yet, say goodbye to the cruise. Of course you'll have to pay for a hotel for a night but you don't have to go foolish on that either.

 

My understanding is that cruise air usually make arrangements to get you there on the day of the cruise. Occasionally they might have to bring someone in earlier and put them up for the night but thats more the exception than the norm. The one redeeming factor is that the cruiseline has some responsibility to get you to the ship. If there are enough people late they can hold a ship for hours until they are assured that the bulk of the latecomers are onboard. Or they can get you to board at the next port of call. Best yet, its at their cost!

 

So I think the answer is a personal choice. One just has to know the pros and cons of either and decide what's best for them.

 

David

[Shorex]

If you really want to understand the RISKS and benefits of taking cruise air versus the BENEFITS and risks of making your own air arrangements, read the sticky at the top of the page: Cruise Air and Air Deviation Explained. You will also understand the concept of FULLY ENDORSABLE versus NON ENDORSABLE ticketing. Without that information you cannot make an informed decision.

 

As greatam said in another thread:

NO place in the cruise air contract does it state the cruise line will get you to the cruise on time. They will TRY to get you there-there are many, many "sh*t happens" clauses.

[eandj]

We always do our own air arrangements. First we pay a lot less than the cruiseline offers. And too we can pick our own flights for our convenience.

Definitely fly in at least a full day early. There is always something to do before you go for the much needed sleep. And no, the cruise line will not hold a ship for you. European and Mediteranean cruises are so popular now, that if a ship gets too off schedule, it can mess up not only them, but other ships' schedules. Buy good travel insurance to cover any other unexpected delays or interuptions.

[greatam]

We are going on a Mediterranean cruise in Nov. 08:D . I know that if you buy your air with RCCL and there is a delay they will get you to the ship before it leaves.

 

This is a FALLACY. They MAY get you there before the cruise leaves. However, you may still be in the USA or an intermediate point in Europe when the ship pulls out. No guarantees. The cruise lines fly most in on the day of embarkation. Usually leave little time for delays. You may be catching up to your cruise in 2-3 days.

 

 

But if you go on your own you more or less are screwed if you have a delay.

 

What recommendations do you have? Should I take the risk or just suck it up and pay more with RCCL?

 

Thanks for your help:)

 

Jenn

 

IF you are thoroughly prepared, with alternative flights AND routings, phone numbers to the airlines, and any other help you can use-TA, corporate travel dept., etc., IMHO, you have more of a chance of getting to your cruise on time.

 

As someone suggested, read the sticky at the top of the page. Your cruise air tickets are usually NON ENDORSABLE. What it means to you-if XXXX airline has a problem and CANNOT get you to your destination on time, it is NOT likely they will put you on another airline. You are essentially STUCK. You will have to wait until XXXX airline has space available seating to your destination. You may miss a few days of your cruise. PLEASE buy trip insurance, no matter which way you decide to go with the air. And buy it from an INDEPENDENT source, NOT the cruise line.

[ab0si]

When I spend a large amount of money on a trip to Europe (or Asia), I want to maximize the trip. In addition to less worry about flight delays, I want to spend some time in a city (or three), so I always fly in several days early.

 

Paul

[loverofcruises]

Does anyone know if insurance is available for tickets purchased using credit card points? thanks in advance...:)

[Sea Hag]

Ask yourself this: do you really enjoy redeye flights? If you do, then you should book your air through the cruiseline and hope you get one. On the other hand, if you hate them, then you're better off booking your air yourself. We only booked air through the cruiseline once, ending up on basically the ever-lasting flight from hades through the night. Never again.

[greatam]

Does anyone know if insurance is available for tickets purchased using credit card points? thanks in advance...:)

 

If you mean an award ticket of some kind (points, miles, etc)-the answer is "Kind Of". They will cover the change fees-usually $100.00. The theory is: ticket is really "free" and you can redeposit miles, points, etc with most programs. But some programs have a redeposit fee. Insurance WILL cover that.

[steve20832]

If you book through the cruiseline, they will probably put you on a flight early morning the day of cruise (Usually between 5am - 9am.) The cruise lines usually charge more than it is to book it yourself. We have always flown down the day before and spent the night in a hotel and it is still less money than booking through the cruiselines. You also won't be falling alseep at dinner or at the shows your first night on the ship because you had to get at 4am to catch a plane that day. This will also buy you some time if luggage is lost or if the flight is delayed or cancelled.

[cspryor]

I am very interested in this topic. I couldn't believe how expensive the airfare was with RCI. I haven't booked yet, I did go through the process on their website to find out the cost. DH and I are planning a May 08 Caribbean cruise and the cost of the airfare (in the air/sea package) from Detroit was about $900 for both of us round trip. I was shocked (being new to cruising--first timer here!)

 

I went to Northwest's website (its hub is Detroit) and found a flight the day before our potential cruise and one late in the afternoon the day our cruise returns (we would be leaving from Port Canaveral and flying to Orlando) for $477.60! Definately enough savings for a nice hotel the night before and transportation--and we are traveling at a decent hour!